Just a few days ago I had my one year blogoversary! On February 11, 2016 I published my first post about candy bars and the taste of business.

I had started this blog as a way to practice my writing skills some more and be in a community where talking about money was accepted and fun. You know, kinda along the same tone as how Jon Oliver talks about retirement plans without sounding super boring. It’s been great so far The most awesome thing I’ve gotten to do was getting to go to FinCon16 (the financial online media conference).

FinCon16 was actually where I started to get questions about the reasoning behind my blog name. It doesn’t have any of the names people often think of when it comes to personal finance blogs: frugal, saving, thrifty, money, budget, cents, rich, or debt.

People would see the ‘rebel’ part of my domain and ask what my ‘plan’ was. So what’s your plan?!

Well, today I’m finally talking about the meaning behind the name. A full one year after having this site. Better late than never, huh?

It all started with a movie…

My blog name is derived from the 1955 movie Rebel Without A Cause. Arguably the most famous movie James Dean is known for.

I LOVE Rebel Without A Cause. There’s just something about its outcast and rebellious collection of characters that makes it endearing to watch. Back in early 2016, while mulling over what to call my site-to-be, I re-watched the movie.

I didn’t want my personal finance blog to have frugal, saving, or anything else that had to do with money in the title. Wanting to start a personal finance blog but not wanting it to have anything to do with money in the title. Kind of weird, right?

I didn’t want to have something to do with money in the title.

I wanted the blog to be about more than just money. I wanted it to be about a way of thinking.

I wanted it to be about how money fit into the life around you and how important it was. I wanted to cover additional topics in personal development, creativity, and lifestyle on the blog.

While watching Rebel Without A Cause, the thematic nature of the film ran through my mind. The movie was taking place in the 1950’s. The war had ended, babies were being born left and right and America was experiencing economic prosperity. The American Dream was alive and well. People embraced the comforts of home ownership and starting a family.

James Dean’s character, Jim Stark, felt like an outsider. He felt restless and disillusioned with the society he lives in. Many millennials of today feel the same way.

That’s how my blog name was born. Millennials are feeling restless and out of touch with the so-called American Dream. They either can’t afford or don’t want houses. They face small paychecks with big costs of living. All around them, society is telling them to consume more. Buy a house, buy a new car, buy another new car, have kids, get the best most expensive furniture (does IKEA count?), have a big costly wedding, and so on.

It’s no shock many millennials are going towards a different way of life. Many of them have a plan to embracing living with less and focusing on what they truly value.

It sounds minimalist-y to say that but minimalism isn’t the main force behind it. The main objective of the plan is to embrace your own values and way of thinking and use those as a driving backbone toward mastering your money and building your best life.

My plan is to live a life where I’m in control of my finances so I can go towards the things I really want. I want to be able to travel, save a lot of money, and retire early. That’s my goal, anyway. I don’t want to life a life constant more and being in debt. I’m putting my focus towards something different.

Colin // RebelwithaPlan

Colin Ashby is the writer behind Rebel with a Plan, a website dedicated to people who choose to rebel against the norm of living in debt and feeling financially unenlightened. He believes everyone has an eccentric quality to embrace and that lattes are sometimes a necessity (despite what the personal finance community tells you).

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6 Comments on Rebel With A Plan

Graham Bell

February 19, 2017 at 1:27 pm (2 years ago)

Congrats on reaching a full year of blogging, Colin! I wish you many more years of blogging to come. Also, I think you’ll be better off in the long run with a more broad domain name. Like you, I didn’t want a typical finance blog title either. I wanted it to be about progress and personal development.

My plan is similar to yours. My plan is to achieve financial independence early through dividend investing, blogging, and freelancing. Once I achieve that, I would like to travel a lot more too. Have a great week 🙂

“Millennials are feeling restless and out of touch with the so-called American Dream.” I agree with this 100%. What’s even more interesting is the parents I talk to who have kids in the 0-10 age range have virtually accepted the fact that their kids are going to have high tuition bills. I’m not sure it will be much different for generation Z.

Having a 529 savings plan is now a necessary point parents and parents-to-be have to discuss when it comes to raising children. I see so many parents stressing about having to contribute consistently to a savings plan for college. It’s crazy!

Congratulations! Seems like the new year is a popular time to start blogging. I just celebrated my own first year last month, and seems like a lot of other people are too. Looking forward to reading more of your articles! 🙂